You Lift Me Up
by abigailtate
Summary: The one day Fletch uses the lift is the one day it decides to get stuck. It's a good thing Jac's there to help. (Pre-No Matter where You Go, Part 1)


For Majorelorne on tumblr ! Ty for the prompt x

Probably not what ya'll are expecting, but I couldn't bring myself to have it all unravel on the lift as I feel it would be too traumatic for Fletch- I hope this works tho hehe x

o

"Hold the lift!"

Jac raises an eyebrow at the familiar voice, before holding down on the button in question to buy Fletch more time. She hadn't seen him use the lift ever since the shooting, for obvious reasons, so this was new. He stumbled onto the lift, clutching his knees as he offers her a thumbs up, signalling for her to let the doors close.

"My my Mr Fletcher, were you by any chance late?" She teases, offering him a smug grin as he rolls his eyes, regaining his composure. "Me? Late? Never." He retorted, a boyish grin adorning his features as he settled down.

His grin was lost as quickly as it came as he finally realised where he was. He took a steady breath and focused on the walls in front, refusing to look at the spot the Jac was stood in, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep himself composed around it. She recognised his struggle, and delicately placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to show him the support that he had shown her in the past couple of months.

"Sorry, you must think I'm pathetic." He grumbled out like a stubborn teenager refusing to admit something was wrong, averting his eyes from the wall and choosing to look at his shoes instead.

"Not at all, you're grieving, no one would judge you for it. Besides, we're nearly-"

She was cut off by a loud clang, and the lights flickering, before the lift screeched to a halt. Her stomach dropped. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the lift had broken down- and on today of all days, with him in here with her.

She glanced to Fletch, seeing the colour drain from his face, and his breathing speed up rapidly. She rushed to the buttons and slammed the alarm button, hopefully alerting someone in maintenance that they were in there, before returning back to Fletch's side, unsure of what to do.

"We'll be out of here in no time, Fletch, they'll come and we'll be back on Darwin before you know it." She cooed out in a soft tone, studying his face that was still yet to raise from looking at the ground.

"No. No no no no." He mumbled out suddenly, and just as Jac reached out to place another comforting hand on him, he rushes forward and slams his fists against the lift doors, pounding with all of his energy.

"I can't be here. I need to get off! Please! Open the doors!" He yelled out, choking on some of his words as tears started to well up in his eyes. Jac watched in shock, never seeing the man before her break down in such a way. He'd always been so calm and collected, never showing that something had gotten to him, and here he was, sobbing while violently pounding onto the lift doors, clearly panicking like a turtle on its back.

She shook her head, and reached out to grab his shoulders and spin him round, so that he was facing her. "Fletch. Look at me. Look. You're okay. You're going to be fine." She demands of him, running her hands down from his shoulders to his hands to prevent him from damaging them any further. She could already see the bruising form, and had even managed to draw blood from one of them.

"Jac I need to get off of here. Please." He sobbed, squeezing her hands as he tried to pull himself free so he could return back to pounding on the doors.

"Stop Fletch! You're hurting yourself! Do you really think Raf would have wanted this?" She yelled out to him, trying her best to hold him back, but ultimately failing as he frees his hands but doesn't resume pounding at the door, instead opting to dig his fingers into his scalp as he sobs, looking directly at Jac now- she can see the fear and anger and months of pent up grief in his eyes.

"He shouldn't have died, Jac." He choked out, his legs buckling under him as she reached out to catch him, falling down to the floor of the lift with him. He wrapped his arms around her, clutching to her as if his life depending on it as he sobbed into her neck, all the while Jac gently rubbing his back soothingly, allowing him to use her as a distraction from their entrapment.

o

They had stayed there for another 15 minutes, only to be finally interrupted by an announcement from maintenance on the intercom that they would be in there for at least another hour, but they were working on it. Jac huffed in frustration, and slowly pulled herself from his embrace, holding his shoulders and studying his face.

He wouldn't look at her, instead opting to stare at the floor once again.

"Cmon, we might as well be comfy if we're going to be here for another hour." She hummed, taking his wrist and tugging at him towards a wall that they could lean against, opting for the one that was the opposite side as to where Raf had been. He slowly, and reluctantly moved, staying silent the entire time, as he slumped against the wall, twiddling with his thumbs anxiously.

She seated herself next to him, removing her coat and using it as a makeshift pillow to take the pressure off of her healing wound, wincing as she got it into position. It didn't go unnoticed by Fletch, who peered at her from the corner of his eye.

"Are you in pain with it, Jac?" He murmured, turning to finally look at her, his eyes bloodshot and still a little teary.

"Sometimes." She answered honestly, fiddling with the hem of her top as she avoided eye contact with him.

"How bad?"

"Sometimes manageable, sometimes prevents me from going into theatre."

He considered her words, and shook his head.

"You should've told me." He murmurs, turning to look at her again, to which she turned her head as well, but still reverting her eyes from his.

"I didn't know how." She said finally, feeling uncomfortable about talking about herself, but knowing he needed a distraction from what had just happened to him.

Silence fills the lift for a heartbeat, before Fletch shuffles closer to her and wraps his arm around her, resting his chin on top of her head as she, after the initial shock, leans into him.

"I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't talk to me." He mumbles out, stroking her arm fondly.

"I'm sorry that I left you to grieve for Raf on your own."

He chuckled throatily, and shook his head.

"You'd been shot, you had bigger things to worry about."

She chuckled, and shrugged her shoulders in agreement.

"I'll talk to someone about Raf if you promise to go back to physio?" He propositioned, causing Jac to take up a thoughtful look upon her face, to which she shrugged her shoulders and nodded.

"Deal."

o

They sat together for another half an hour, before they felt the lift jolt, and it started moving again, opening for the pair on Darwin. They rushed to their feet and practically leaped off of the lift, letting out sighs of relief as they appreciated the open spaces that Darwin provided. Their relief was short lived as Jac heard a shout from Patrenko down the corridor of 'Crash Team!', causing the consultant and director of nursing the rush straight back into action, their earlier heart to hearts being put on hold in favour of saving lives.

Once the patient had been resuscitated, Jac nodded her head in satisfaction. "Straight to theatre. Patrenko, Fletch, scrub in." She demanded, knowing that there was no way Fletch would let her operate after her confession now. "I'll observe." The trio rushed off in their respective directions to get ready for an emergency operation.

o

The next chance they had to actually speak to each other was the end of their shifts. Jac was sat at her desk, seeing to some paperwork, before Fletch waltzed into the office, his usual childish grin adorning his face.

"Patrenko did well today, she's been taught well." He mused aloud, throwing himself onto her sofa and resting her hands behind his head.

"Flattery will get you no where, Mr Fletcher." She teased, shooting him a raised eyebrow as she finished off her final patient file of the day, before throwing her pen onto her desk with a satisfying thud.

"You fancy a drink? After the day I've had I think I'm in need of a drink or three." He propositioned, raising to his feet as she rose from her chair.

"If you're buying." She shot back, grabbing her bag before striding up to him, and stopping in front of him. He rolled his eyes and waved his hand for her to go first, all the while a big grin covering his face.

o

"I had a really good time tonight." Jac slurred, possibly having one too many drinks more than what would be good for her. The pair were stumbling out of Albie's, heading towards the car park where the taxis would be queued up waiting for duty.

"Me too, just what I needed after today." He hummed in agreement, hands stuffed in his pockets sheepishly as he trailed alongside her, a dopey grin on his face.

They settled into a comfortable silence, plodding along together merrily, both enjoying each others company. Fletch paused in his movements though, and sheepishly kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, a small smile on his face.

"I wanted to say.. thanks. For earlier. In the lift." She stumbled out, stepping forward so he could grip her arm, a warm smile on his lips. "I didn't want you to see that, it was unprofessional and-"

Jac cut him off by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a warm embrace, digging her head into his neck, having to remain on her tiptoes due to their height difference. Fletch let out a surprised grunt and struggled to hold his composure due to all the alcohol rushing through his system, but managed to wrap his arms around her tightly, enjoying just how perfectly she fit in his arms.

"You don't need to say sorry, you know. We all have our moments." She hummed out to him, pulling away only slightly so she could look him in the eye. "I'd do it all again if I had to."

Fletch swallowed the lump forming in his throat, feeling a sudden wave of affection for the woman in front of him. He hadn't really had anyone to talk to about Raf's death, no one that he could really pour his heart out to, so the fact that Jac cared meant more to him then she could ever understand.

Without thinking, he surged forwards and connect their lips, hands planted firmly on her waist to balance her as she let out a squeak of surprise. He pulled away as quickly as he'd surged in, and stared at her with wide eyes, hers being just as wide.

"Jac, I'm so-"

Once again he was cut off as she reconnected their lips, tightening her grip around his neck and kissing him with all the emotions she had pent up the last few months, to which she would in the morning blame on the alcohol.

He returned the kiss with just as much passion as she, holding her as close as he could, afraid that he would never be able to let go of her. He toyed with the hem of her shirt, running a finger along the exposed bit of flesh, electing a quiet moan from Jac, causing her to pull away from him and grab his hand.

"It'd be a shame not to share a taxi, wouldn't it, Mr Fletcher?" She teased, tugging him in the direction of the taxis, a dangerous look in her eyes.

"It certainly would, Ms Naylor." He husked, following behind her with as much want as she was displaying.

Evie wasn't best pleased that she'd have to put the kids to bed for the night, but she wasn't going to say no to the extra £50 that her dad had bribed her with.


End file.
